Fodder-cutters used in fodder harvesters comprise chopping cylinders or drums which rotate at high speed and of which the knives cooperate with a fixed counter-knife to chop agricultural products entering in the form of stems, leaves or the like, into small pieces or elements. The position of the counter-knife with respect to the knives of the drum and the state of the fine edge of the knives are critical for obtaining suitable cutting, a uniform length of the cut elements and a minimum energy consumption.
It is therefore essential that the edge of the knives remain perfect and that the clearance between said knives and the counter-knife remain minimum. Consequently, in order to obtain a good result, the knives must be sharpened several times every day, the minimum being removed each time, accompanied by an adjustment of the counter-knife. This obviously implies that all the operations be effected very rapidly, in perfect safety for the personnel and the equipment.
Such is the general purpose of the present invention, common to the other heretofore known devices.
However, in the latter, the function of sharpening is not associated with that of the adjustment of the counter-knife. Yet it is advantageous to carry out these operations simultaneously and this is the particular object of the present invention, within the framework of the general purpose set forth hereinabove, thanks to which a maximum efficiency of the machine can be attained with a minimum time of sharpening/adjustment.
Furthermore, the present invention does not employ the complex electronic systems of the heretofore known devices, which are always difficult to repair in an agricultural environment, and proposes a device which employs simple mechanics of which only the monitoring is ensured by electrical or electronic means, which are, themselves, very simple.